Spectrums of the Spiritual Journey

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mat.5:3-10)

Oh God, you are full of mercy. Remember me, a sinner.

This is so familiar to many of us, me included that sometimes we can no longer hear what it meant. Especially when you seems to have your Christian life "together". But when you are broken by sins, in the struggle and failures of everyday living, when you feel like you cannot get anywhere in this spiritual journey, these words become so comforting: "blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." Those words cleanses my soul deep down this morning. O Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. But then there's sometimes we seems to be in other end of the spectrum of the Christian life; when we are making progress, when we live out the faith, when we have a taste of victory over sins, etc. Then these words continue to encourage us, "blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." I see these words as gears in a cyclical engine of faith. We started out somewhere with being needy, being desperate, and through repentance and faith in Jesus, we move toward maturity in righteousness, living out the faith toward other people, to the point that we could be persecuted for doing the right things. But don't take me wrong, I don't think these gears are static (once you got through a certain level, you are ready for the next one); I see these as very small, and continuous cycles in our lives as we living out the faith. (Some thing I wrote about about in the cyclical pattern of faith). It's also interesting that the words "bless" here can be translated as "happy" as well. If so, this is the secret to "a happy life", but not the kind of happiness which the Time magazine special issues "The Science of Happiness" discussed about. This is the kind of biblical happiness which Mark Robert discussed about in his theology of happiness. For me this morning, I am starting from the broken end and trusting that God will take me to the wholistic end of the Beattitude soon.